In the field of agriculture, it is well known that planters are employed for the purpose of cultivating and supporting plants. Vertical growing columns are planters which are especially desirable for cultivating plants in an indoor environment or an outdoor environment in which conventional growing methods are disfavored. Among its other advantages, growing columns are used to facilitate volume plant growth in a minimum area.
Despite these advantages, vertical growing columns presently available are unable to achieve an optimum yield from the cultivated plants disposed within them as a consequence of impediments inherent in the construction of these columns. Chief among these defects is the overall structure of the columns which discriminates in the type and amount of light to which each plant is exposed. The quality and quantity of light to which a plant is exposed is contingent upon its position in the growing column. This disparity in light exposure results in a distinct variation in the quality of the product harvested. The variation is manifested by the gradual deterioration in product quality as the column is viewed from the top to the bottom.
As the structure of these columns is essential to both the amount of a grower's growing space and the volume of a grower's crop, it is essential to overcome this critical disadvantage, without structural modification. The present invention accomplishes this objective by optimizing the quality and quantity of light received by the plants, regardless of their position in the column, and maximizing the corresponding quantity and quality of the expected yield.
Other devices have been produced to provide alternative methods for cultivating plants in an indoor or an outdoor environment. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. Patents:
Pat. No. Inventor(s) Issue Date 3,389,499 E. Haile Jun 25, 1968 4,123,873 R. Canova Nov 07, 1978 4,216,617 M. Schmidt Aug 12, 1980 4,389,813 M. J. Jaques, et al. Jun 28, 1983 4,779,378 S. I. Mason, Jr. Oct 25, 1988 5,031,359 F. W. Moffett, Jr. Jul 16, 1991 5,136,807 D. Orlov Aug 11, 1992 5,276,997 M. L. Swearengin, et al. Jan 11, 1994
The '499 patent issued to Haile discloses an outdoor planting wall which includes a plurality of vertically spaced blocks adapted to contain soil and plants. The front side wall of each individual block is bowed out to define a lateral enlargement which serves as a planting trough. In formation, the blocks are laterally staggered and locked together to form a wall with planting troughs projecting entirely from one or both faces of the wall.
The '873 patent issued to Canova discloses a cellular structure for growing plants in an indoor environment. The cellular structure includes inclined walls which enclose about a nutritive medium and a multiplicity of openings within those walls for receiving plants.
The '617 patent issued to Schmidt discloses an indoor hydroponic planting system whose framework provides irrigation piping and a manifold to circulate water used to nourish the plants throughout the system, as well as a cable mechanism for manually rotating the plant receptacles from the bottom to the top of the planter system.
The '813 patent issued to Jaques, et al., discloses a multi-component, PVC pipe-type indoor planter system having an electrical cord received within a tube which is centrally disposed within the fixed length of the planter system's central trunk.
The '378 patent issued to Mason discloses a stackable planter system which requires that each section be soil filled prior to assembly and that the units bear a specific orientation atop one another.
The '359 patent issued to Moffett, Jr. discloses an outdoor vertical garden structure which includes a unitary molded structure having a top and bottom cover and a plurality of spaced plant openings which allow access to a housed growing medium, as well as a method for producing the garden structure.
The '807 patent issued to Orlov discloses an arrangement for growing plants including multiple planters stacked atop each other to attain a columnar form wherein each container is partially filled with a medium for growing plants.
The '997 patent issued to Swearengin, et al., discloses a vertical planter which consists of an elongated cylindrical pipe having a self-contained watering system and a plurality of protruding openings disposed about the pipe surface but which lacks the means to prevent soil compaction and resulting plant atrophy.
None of these patents discloses a lighting system for lighting a vertical growing column which includes an apparatus for carrying and disposing a lighting system about a vertical planter and an external fluid dispensing system for nourishing plants disposed within each individual plant receptacle of the growing column. Neither do any of these devices teach or disclose a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which utilizes sulfur lighting to luminate the colors of the rainbow to enhance the growth potential of all plants in the vertical plant column. Nor do any of these devices teach or disclose a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which uniformly distributes the maximum necessary lighting for plants and seedlings disposed in a vertical growing column which facilitates plant growth regardless of the plant's position in the column. Nor do any of these devices disclose a lighting system which utilizes a plurality of lights of varying shapes which are disposed about a series of vertical growing columns such that there is no limit on the height of the vertical growing column which can be effectively employed to grow and cultivate plants.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which supports the growth of a plurality of plants arranged in a vertical column.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a lighting system for use with growing structures of any configuration which enhances the tonnage per unit area or per unit volume of product harvestable from plants cultivated in the columns.
Another object of this invention is to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column in which the lighting system provides "near-sunlight" for the interior growth of plants.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column in which the lighting system provides the bright full character colors of sunlight to enhance plant growth potential.
It is an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column in which the lighting system reduces plant exposure to unwanted UV light.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which maximizes light color for plants while minimizing energy consumption costs in providing that lighting.
Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column in which the lighting system is easily positioned and repositioned about the vertical growing column.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which distributes light to inaccessible areas.
It is also object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column in which the lighting system includes a plurality of movable, adjustable sulfur tube lights and a plurality of sulfur light fixtures such that the lighting system provides sufficient light adequately and properly radiate plants and seedlings disposed in a plurality of vertical growing columns regardless of the height of the vertical growing columns.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which further includes an external fluid dispensing system for dispensing fluid to each of the individual plant receptacles, and supporting structure for supporting the system in a vertical orientation.
Moreover, it is an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which utilizes a lighting system that increases environmental safety in the dispersal of light.
Additionally, it is an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column in which the lighting system and the vertical growing column are both easily maintained and/or replaced and which require minimal maintenance.
Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which is of a durable and reliable construction.
It is an object of this invention, as well, to provide a lighting system for use with a vertical growing column which is easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.